People on the street often stop us and say “Cute Baby! What does a kid like that cost?”
Well, that depends on who you ask.
If you are CPMC (the hospital), you would answer “$310,802.26!” That is the number that they requested for both Jenn and Grace for all of their bills from the time that this roller coaster left the platform, until they both came home. Two thirds of that number is for Grace, of course, for all of her wonderful NICU nights with doctors, nurses and Pay-Per-View movies.
If you are TIBCO (my employer), you would say “$196,259.91!” This is the number that the insurance company came to after they cut down the bill with discounts, denials and double talk. TIBCO self-insures, which means that they have an insurance company to administer our health plan and find those discounts, but they cover the expenses from the company coffers. Apparently this makes sense on average…until a family like ours comes along!
Our answer is my favorite. We simply say “one G”…$1000.00!
That is the cost of the hospital copay that we have to cover for both of my happy and healthy girls.
Anonymous
June 30, 2008 at 2:17 pm
and I thought the 50k my 4 day stay with a C-section was pricey. It’s extra pricey in comparison. Although the hospital and such got under 20k in the end. She’s looking good! – Vanessa